The real estate company Atrium Ljungberg owns four properties in Lindholmen, totaling 84,000 square meters of office space. The tenants have diverse needs. The buildings house server rooms that need to be kept cool all year round, laboratories that require at least 40 degrees Celsius, and office environments with varying requirements depending on the outdoor temperature.

When the real estate company conducted an energy analysis of three of the properties, they noticed that both cooling and heating consumption were high throughout the year.

“I didn’t think it made sense to run cooling and heating simultaneously. Therefore, we decided to investigate if there was a solution. When you produce cooling, you get waste heat, and vice versa. I was surprised that no one seemed to have asked this question before,” says Morgan Westlund, the property manager for Atrium Ljungberg in Gothenburg.

He assembled a group consisting of energy experts and entrepreneurs to find an answer. They studied a large map of the energy system and pondered what needed to be done. The solution gradually took shape.

Morgan Westlund started researching the solutions available on the market. Meanwhile, ducts were excavated between the buildings to connect them. In addition to pipes with cold and hot water, a third pipe was also installed to complement the other loops and make the indoor climate more stable.

“We found the solution in Italy in the form of a geothermal heat pump with three loops instead of two,” says Morgan Westlund.

Atrium Ljungberg has also installed a system that purifies the air circulating in the properties, a so-called ionization equipment. This allows the air within the buildings to be reused.

“It means that we can recirculate a larger proportion of the exhaust air with the already heated or cooled energy. If it’s 30 degrees Celsius outside and we want 22 degrees inside, we take the exhaust air, which is 24 degrees, and cool it down instead of bringing in 30-degree air and cooling it down.”

With this system, they have found a way to utilize the surplus cooling and excess heat generated within the properties. The results have exceeded expectations.

“We have halved our energy purchases and reduced our carbon dioxide emissions by about 110 tons per year. That’s equivalent to the emissions from 90 cars in a year or 550 flights between Gothenburg and Paris,” says Morgan Westlund.

According to him, the solution is unique.

“We have combined different technologies into one system, and as far as I know, there is nothing like this anywhere else.”

The construction of the energy system cost just under 15 million Swedish Krona.

“The estimated payback period is less than eight years. So, it’s a significant reduction in our carbon footprint, which also makes economic sense.”

There is a lot of interest in the system.

“Several other companies in Gothenburg have reached out about the possibility of implementing the same system in their properties, so hopefully, we inspire more people to think sustainably. It feels incredibly exciting to be part of developing a completely new type of climate-smart energy solution,” says Morgan Westlund.

At the same time, he emphasizes that the system cannot be copied directly.

“Each building has its own anatomy, and tenants have different needs. It’s important to ask questions about how the building is equipped and what kind of energy is needed. But feel free to come and take a look.”

“Is there anything that hasn’t gone as you expected?”

“I wasn’t prepared for it to take so long to complete, but then again, I’m a bit restless. It’s better for it to take time and work really well, so we can deliver the promised temperature. Now we have tested it during the fall and will run it on a full scale from the turn of the year. Lindholmen is a leader in Europe when it comes to innovation development, and it feels great to do this right here.”